Abstracts of Somerset medieval wills and indexes of Kent wills and administrations have recently gone online.
The Origins Network has made more probate records available online at the National Wills Index website.
Somerset Medieval Wills Abstracts 1385-1558
This volume contains full abstracts (summaries) to wills for Somerset testators proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. These abstracts contain a complete summary of the details contained within each will and includes all names and places (testators, executors, witnesses and beneficiaries) plus incidental information such as relationships and occupations where found in the original documents.
Additional Kent Probate Indexes 1440-1857
Kent has the largest collection of probate records of any English county, but there are as yet no published indexes to much of this material. Indexes to all of these records will become available on the National Wills Index in 2012. Kent probate indexes currently available are:
West Kent Wills Index, 1440-1857
This is a dataset of the wills proved in the Archdeaconry & Consistory Courts of Rochester and the Peculiar of Cliffe, c1440-1857. Together these cover the following courts and dates:
Probate Court Dates No. Wills
Rochester Consistory Court c1440-1857 22,883
Rochester Archdeaconry Court 1635-1857 4,851
Peculiar of Cliffe 1671-1843 297
Kent inventories 1571-1842
27,812 surviving paper inventories of Kent testators, covering the following courts and dates:
Probate Court Dates No. Inventories
Diocese of Canterbury, Archdeaconry Court 1571-1842 17,787
Diocese of Canterbury, Consistory Court 1596-1748 7,533
Diocese of Rochester, combined Archdeaconry & Consistory Courts 1687-1784 2,492
[…] This volume contains full abstracts (summaries) to wills for Somerset testators proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. These abstracts contain a complete summary of the details contained within each will and includes all names and places (testators, executors, witnesses and beneficiaries) plus incidental information such as relationships and occupations where found in the original documents.Source: wordpress.com […]